The Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States
Serving our Community for 29 Years!
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LUSUS Newsletter
New Edition of LUSUS to Highlight Portuguese Culture
Part of PALCUS' mission is to promote the Portuguese culture and those who are helping to keep it alive. We welcome input from anyone on people or groups to feature, as well as additional categories to include.
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Featured Folklore - Sons of Portugal Folklore Dance Group
Sons of Portugal Folklore Dance group’s mission is: “We are dedicated to the education, stimulation, development, encouragement, cultivation, sponsorship and promotion of public interest, awareness, appreciation and understanding of the culture, traditions and language of Portugal.”
This group is from Danbury, CT.
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Traditions / Customs - Dia de Portugal Celebration
“In June, Americans of Portuguese heritage join together with others throughout the world in a celebration of Portuguese culture – Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comunidades Portuguesas. On the second Saturday of the month, the Portuguese Heritage Society of California hosts its Dia de Portugal Festival.”
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Featured Fado Singer – Diana Mendes
Diana Mendes is a Portuguese American fado singer.
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Featured Photographer – Nick Rezendes
Nick Rezendes states, “I Am a full-time self-taught photographer based out of Connecticut who loves capturing real emotions. From the time I was little, I have always been creative and have had a huge passion for anything artistic. As I got older, I really developed a true passion specifically in photography and have taught myself everything I currently know.
Photography is not only my passion, it’s my livelihood! I put my heart and soul into every client and every photo I capture!”
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Featured Chef – Jeremiah Duarte Bills
“Called a “master of his craft,” by pastry chef Johnny Iuzinni Jeremiah Duarte Bills is a baker, a musician and an ambassador for all things Portuguese.
Growing up in a dessert-obsessed family in Loomis, CA, he began baking in college as a way to connect to his Portuguese heritage. In 2016, he appeared on ABC’s The Great American Baking Show where Mary Berry called his bakes “a perfect example,” “a masterpiece of work,” and of his Portuguese sausage and cheese dinner rolls, “This is my lunch, thank you very much.” This experience connected him to people all over the world hungry to learn about Portuguese dessert recipes.”
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Featured Architect – Aires Mateus
“Manuel Aires Mateus was born in Lisbon in 1963 and graduated from Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon in 1986. He started collaborating with the architect Gonçalo Byrne in 1983 and started developing projects with his brother, Francisco, in 1988. The office Aires Mateus was then established independently by the two brothers although it was housed in Gonçalo Byrne's studio in the first years. The increasing scale of work made them establish a larger and autonomous space to fulfill the demands. Since then the scale and the number of projects have been prolific, resulting in several national and international awards. The visibility of their work has led to them holding numerous lecturer and instructor positions at several institutions. Among these are Harvard GSD, the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, as well as several others in Portugal.”
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Featured Designer – Stephanie Dinis
Stephanie Dinis is a Portuguese-American cake designer.
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Featured Fashionista – Lauren Tormenta
“Lauren Tormenta was born in Westchester and graduated in fashion from FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in Manhattan; is the daughter of Lisbon immigrant Luís Tormenta, former Commissioner for Construction and Design in York City and current CEO of the Liro Group, and American mother, Debra Tormenta.”
She owns a store called “Lauren Fashion and Accessories,” located in New York.
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Featured Author – David Leite
“David Leite is the resident Fatty Daddy behind Leite’s Culinaria, which he founded in 1999, long before blogs came into existence. Though you may know David best by the witticisms and wisdom he shares online, he’s also shared his perspective on pretty much everything in print, radio, and television. His first book, The New Portuguese Table: Exciting Flavors from Europe’s Western Coast, won the 2010 IACP First Book/Julia Child Award. And his most recent book, Notes on a Banana: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Manic Depression, was published by Dey Street Books in 2017.”
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Featured Winery – St. Jorge Winery
“Vern J. Vierra, the owner of St. Jorge Winery, grew up making wine alongside his father and grandfather. The labor of love turned out to be a yearly social event bringing together family to make the best wine with their secret methods. After much success among his family and friends, it was easy to turn his passion for making wonderful wine into a business reality.”
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Featured Scientist – Craig C. Mello
“The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2006 was awarded jointly to Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello "for their discovery of RNA interference - gene silencing by double-stranded RNA.’”
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Featured Actor – James Franco
“Known for his breakthrough starring role on Freaks and Geeks (1999), James Franco was born April 19, 1978 in Palo Alto, California, to Betsy Franco, a writer, artist, and actress, and Douglas Eugene "Doug" Franco, who ran a Silicon Valley business. His mother is Jewish and his father was of Portuguese and Swedish descent.”
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Featured Musician – Joe Raposo
“Joe Raposo (February 8, 1937 - February 5, 1989) was a composer who wrote songs, score, background cues, and other music for Sesame Street and other Muppet projects. Raposo created some of the best known Muppet songs, notably the "Sesame Street Theme", "Bein' Green", and "C Is for Cookie," and helped establish the musical sound of Sesame Street. Some of his Sesame Street songs have since become popular standards covered by everyone from the Carpenters to Barbra Streisand, including "Bein' Green" and "Sing".”
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If you would like to feature your artwork or written works in this newsletter, please send your bio, images and other information to palcus@palcus.org
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JOIN PALCUS
Are you a PALCUS member yet?
We are stronger together!
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If you agree with the work undertaken by PALCUS to build the social, cultural and political capital of our community, then please join us and become a member today!
Strong membership participation means a stronger voice in the national Portuguese-American agenda. In order to advance Portuguese language education, increase presence in the congressional caucuses, and provide economic opportunities, the collective voice of thousands is needed!
In addition, PALCUS is a member-driven non-profit organization that depends on membership dues and fundraising events to fund its operations. Members of the all-volunteer board of directors donate their time and personal funds for travel, lodging and tickets to attend networking events and planning sessions so our administrative costs are relatively low but nonetheless critical to doing business on a daily basis.
There are membership categories to suit every budget and level of interest. Please click on our membership webpage and join our voice today!
Questions? Contact Graci for more information!
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Did you enjoy this newsletter? Do you know about all the programs PALCUS offers our community? Please visit our website and become a member today!
We can't do what we do without your support!
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Jobs for Portuguese Speakers
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PALCUS Mission
In order to create a singular voice to advocate for the Portuguese-American and Luso-American communities at large, the Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States Inc. (PALCUS) was founded in 1991 as a non-partisan, non-profit, organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The PALCUS mission is to address domestic and international concerns of the Portuguese-American Community.
The Council conducts an expanding program of educational and public affairs activities on issues of interest to the Portuguese-American community and of salience to the Luso-American Relationship.
PALCUS is committed to serving the community through increasingly active government relations efforts, the promotion of a greater awareness of ethnic accomplishments and encouraging stronger ties between Portugal and the United States. In this role PALCUS advances the community professionally, politically and culturally while working to ensure that issues directly affecting our community are addressed through our network of government and community leaders.
PALCUS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization under the IRS tax code and incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia. Donations are tax deductible to extent allowed by law and will be acknowledged.
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PALCUS has earned the 2019 Gold GuideStarUSA Nonprofit Profile Seal of Transparency. Visit our profile HERE
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Contact Information
Phone: 202-466-4664
9255 Center St., Suite 404
Manassas, VA 20110
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